Letters

Letters

Article excerpt

Wandering orca highlights Canada's cultural complexities

Regarding Rondi Adamson's Sept. 4 Opinion piece, "Canada's whale
of a dilemma": So many articles I have read about Luna seem content
to focus only on the damage he does to boats, and what a "menace" he
is. I was glad to see this article because it directly challenges
the Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nations' (MMFN) claim on Luna, and it
is this "claim" that is the primary, if not only, reason why Luna is
still alone and away from his family. There is so much political
correctness these days, many people are afraid to call the First
Nations on their mistakes when they make them (and in this case,
they have made a big one).

The MMFN claims to honor nature and orca, but it is currently
doing a great dishonor to Luna. Now is the ideal time for Luna to be
reunited with his family. Let's hope with articles such as this one
fueling public pressure, Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans
will finally stand up against the MMFN and do what is right for
Luna. Teresa Taggart Victoria, British Columbia

In human beings' interaction with the natural world, there is no
relationship more special than the bond between predator and prey.
Modern humans have - to a large degree - forgotten this, with our
grocery stores where the consumer has little knowledge of the
product he or she eats or drinks. Farmers and hunters, on the other
hand, often share a bond with what they eat. There is no
contradiction in revering what you kill - humans have done so since
the dawn of time.

As for the statement that Luna/Tsuux-iit is a real whale and not
a mythological one: For many native peoples, there is no difference
between the mythological and the real - they are one and the same.
As for the statement "We're sorry we stole your land," I can hardly
find words to describe my outrage at such a falsity.

If it's true that "expressions of guilt - some sincere, some not -
over past injustices have created an environment, at least in
Canada, where anything short of concurrence with native ideas is
seen as arrogance," then why is there so much prejudice and
injustice against the First Nations? …